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Why I Give
Louise is principal/superintendent of Yuba Environmental Science Charter Academy, a free, public, K-8 charter school in Yuba County, California.
What are your passions?
My passion is the natural world. I love the beauty of native plants and am fascinated by their adaptations and how they support the web of life in a habitat. I love making short environmental films to share that passion and encourage viewers to live sustainably in nature.
I’m also a Wildland Fire Mitigation Advisor in our wildfire-prone region of California, and I volunteer for Yuba Sutter Race Dialogues, where I facilitate discussions and participate in weekly unity walks.
You’ve made YES! a centerpiece of your school curriculum.
Yes! The entire issue on What an Ecological Civilization Looks Like moved me. I gave a copy to my staff and made the question “What does an environmentally sustainable civilization look like?” our school’s theme for the year. Each class is engaged in a year-long project that investigates an aspect of this question, from planting native plants and protecting endangered species to examining how Californians can be environmentally sustainable in the face of drought and climate change.
How does YES! support your values and your work to build a better world?
YES! is at the intersection of the issues that are most important to me—environmental justice and social justice. When I read YES!, I learn. I feel connected. And I feel empowered to act, knowing that I’m part of a community that can create change.
While reading each new issue of YES! I experience a paradigm shift. I learn how people are working in community to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable world. Following their examples, I am finding my communities and engaging in social and environmental work to build the world I want my students, children, and grandchildren to inherit.
YES! offers solutions to the world’s most pressing problems in a way that individuals and groups can use to take effective action. Please join me in supporting this important work!